“I used to ride a bike. Now I’m piloting a fighter jet”.
This is how veteran content marketer Nick Saalfeld describes the impact of generative AI on his craft. It’s a neat analogy. Without a pilot, a fighter jet is just a huge, expensive chunk of metal.
It’s the pilot’s expertise that propels the vehicle forward.
The synergy between a gifted writer and thoughtfully deployed AI tools can unleash huge productivity gains and generate enormous value for their clients.
Let’s take a closer look.
GenAI’s capabilities have increased exponentially since we wrote our state of the industry address in early 2023.
Innovations like GPT-4 have increased GenAI’s ‘intelligence’ and creativity. LLMs have developed new capabilities like code interpretation, file analysis, image generation and web browsing.
As GenAI transforms the face of copywriting and content marketing, CEOs and CFOs have come to expect quality copy at scale. They’ve also realised that GenAI is not a magic bullet. That flooding a website with AI-generated content can damage engagement. They understand that GenAI needs to be paired with a skilled human copywriter.
Fortunately, the tools to achieve clients’ goals are abundant – and in many cases, free.
It’s up to copywriters to find the right GenAI stack and workflows for their needs.
Initial industry reactions to GenAI ranged from cynicism to outright panic. Even established journalists began to fear for their jobs.
Writers gained a better understanding of what GenAI is good and bad at. Curiosity drove experimentation. With this came the realisation that AI makes for a much better personal assistant than a ghost writer.
In time, many copywriters have eased themselves into a hybrid approach, integrating AI tools into their workflows.
A survey by web hosting company 20i reported that:
This frees up copywriters’ time and creative bandwidth – allowing them to focus on storytelling and strategic thinking – things that AI still struggles with.
“I use AI every day,” Nick told us, “but there isn’t a single whole sentence anywhere in my work that’s exclusively generated by AI”.
If this sentence has you scratching your head, don’t worry. We were a little bamboozled too, until Nick shared with us some of the ways in which he leverages AI to work smarter rather than harder.
To illustrate, he told us about a security conference that he attended on behalf of a client.
Nick used AI tools to transcribe keynote talks in real-time. This allowed him to be more present in the talks rather than frantically taking notes.
There are transcription services, such as Otter and Rev. However, Microsoft 365 has an excellent – and often overlooked – transcription tool. Powered by the same proprietary AI as MS Teams’ transcription capability, it is at least as good as paid-for competitors.
He then uploaded these transcripts to the cloud to access at his convenience.
Mining dense information sources like transcripts or audio recordings for seams of gold used to be arduous. Nick now uses AI tools to distill such data in seconds, then applies his own nous to draw out the key insights.
LLMs can be prompted to:
Doing this saved Nick time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. Like coming up with compelling copy hooks or redrafting copy for maximum impact.
As a result, he had five client-ready articles by lunchtime next day.
That time saving left him well-rested, creatively calibrated and ready for his next challenge.
Nick’s not the only copywriter making huge productivity gains with GenAI. In his own words, “AI is changing the workflow so that we can deliver faster and better”. Rather than diminishing copywriters’ value, AI can enhance it.
There are several ways copywriters can leverage GenAI to up their game and deliver value for clients.
Even with a great creative brief, it can be difficult to form an idea into a content outline.
AI apps like NotebookLM are great spaces for ideation. Copywriters can drop in client-supplied assets along with their own research materials. These can then be condensed into bullet points, and suggestions for what material makes for good content.
This makes for faster, more decisive ideation.
Research is an essential skill for copywriters. To support their arguments, they need to be able to get quick access to the right information from credible sources.
Sometimes a client brief will point them in the right direction. Other times, they’ll be left to their own resources.
Deep research tools like Perplexity leave conventional Google searches in the dust. They combine chatbot capabilities with real-time web browsing and citation features.
ChatGPT lets writers add custom instructions that lock in brand tone and style to keep it on-brand.
With a ChatGPT Plus plan (£20/month inc. VAT), they can also build custom GPTs for each client.
These add custom data like ToV guidelines or previous outputs to ChatGPT’s base model. They’re a great tool for aligning early drafts with brand guidelines.
SEO can be a tug-of-war between keyword density and readability. Copywriters can waste precious time reworking copy around keywords in a way that flows naturally.
AI tools can reiterate problematic paragraphs and make it easier to balance keywords with narrative flow.
Occasionally, that first draft just doesn’t land. That’s okay – it’s part of the process. Still, sometimes we need a helping hand to beat those drafts into shape.
LLMs can act as the world’s fastest copy editors. Writers can generate alternate versions or A/B test different variations of pages to increase conversions.
AI has changed the game – but it hasn’t replaced the players.
By combining smart automation with human creativity, we offer flexible, cost-effective copywriting solutions for SMEs.
If you’re looking to scale your content without compromising on quality or tone of voice – let’s talk.
We can’t wait to show you what’s possible.
